In re Lunt's Trust

• Decision Date: 06 March 1945
• Docket Number: No. 46632.,46632.
• Citation: 17 N.W.2d 803,236 Iowa 28
• Parties: In re LUNT'S TRUST.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

236 Iowa 28

17 N.W.2d 803

In re LUNT'S TRUST.

No. 46632.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

March 6, 1945.

Appeal from District Court, Mahaska County; J. G. Patterson, Judge.

Application of trustee, resisted by certain beneficiaries, for allowance of attorneys' fees. From order fixing and allowing fees said beneficiaries appeal. Opinion states the facts.

Affirmed.

Stipp, Perry, Bannister, Carpenter & Ahlers, of Des Moines, for appellants.

McCoy & McCoy and Thomas J. Bray, all of Oskaloosa, and J. C. Eichhorn, of Oskaloosa, for appellees.

OLIVER, Justice.

This case is a sequel to Van Gorden et al. v. Lunt, Iowa, 13 N.W.2d 341, which will be referred to herein as the former case or the former appeal. Walter L. Lunt, trustee of Henry W. Lunt Trust, made application for order fixing and allowing fees for attorneys representing said trust and trustee in said former litigation. Ella Lunt Van Gorden and Mattie Lunt Van Gorden, each of whom own a one-fifth beneficial interest in said trust, resisted said application and have appealed from the order and decree requiring the trustees to pay the attorneys $1,000 for such services.

The former case was instituted by appellants against appellee Walter L. Lunt, trustee and Edward L. Butler (the other) trustee, and against Walter L. Lunt, individually, Gordon R. Lunt and Willie C. Lunt. Gordon owns two-fifths and Walter the remaining one-fifth beneficial interest in said trust. In the former case both sides appealed but the appellants in this case were designated appellees in the former appeal.

The attorneys engaged by the trustee in the former case represented other defendants also. In the case at bar, the trial court fixed the value of such legal services at $2,000 and found that the trust should pay one-half of said amount. Appellants do not assail the adjudication that the value of the legal services was $2,000. Their complaint is that the former suit was merely a contest between the individual beneficiaries, that the legal services were rendered for the sole benefit of the individual defendants, and that the trust was not interested in the result of said suit and should not be required to pay one-half of the charges of the attorneys for defending the case.

Appellants rely upon In re Estate of Leighton, 210 Iowa 913, 921, 224 N.W. 543, and various decisions cited therein. Generally speaking, the doctrine of these cases is that a contest between beneficiaries of an estate involving its distribution or the fixing of the interests or shares of the beneficiaries is a matter of indifference to the trust and the trustees may be said to be merely nominal parties, disinterested in the result and without duty to actively participate in the contest. In re Lunt, Iowa, 16 N.W.2d 25, also cited by appellants, applies this doctrine. That case started with an application by the trustees for directions concerning the distribution of income to the beneficiaries. Certain beneficiaries answered, asserting that the interest or share of another beneficiary should be charged with expense incurred by them in...